Why is Daniel voting Labor? Not afraid

I am desperate, not afraid!  

As we get closer to voting day, the day we Israelis have the opportunity and obligation to vote for who we believe should lead Israel and the Jewish people, too many politicians are trying to scare me: whether it's about Iran, Haredim, Arabs, Palestinians, Settlers, Mizrachim, Ashkenazim, education, army … the list is long. But I don’t want to vote because I am scared. I want to vote for a vision, for an alternative to the last four years and an alternative to what seems inevitable—another four years of the deterioration of the Zionist dream. I am tired of politicians trying to scare me into voting for them. I will not vote out of fear. I believe Shelly Yachimovich and the Labor Party are the only alternative to fear.

I may be desperate but I am not afraid, I'm voting Labor because I believe.  

-Daniel, an oleh from Australia 

Why is Ea voting Labor? Real change

When I made Aliyah a year and a half ago, it was because I wanted to make a difference in Israeli society. I wanted to restore the word "Zionism" to the meaning bestowed upon it by the chalutzim, the pioneers who built this country; A Jewish State as a home for a society which would constantly strive for equality and social justice. A People who would hold itself to a higher standard than the status quo of the exile from which it came.

I chose to impact Israeli society by being an educator – a decision that means investing many, many hours into other people; hoping and waiting for them to choose to change their own lives, and join me in this uphill mission. While I still am not disillusioned, even though the measure of my success in this endeavor is almost impossible to see, this is my chance to make a change today.

Today I can be heard.

Today I can support policies which will protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

Today I can insist that the peace process be made an urgent priority by the Israeli government.

Today I can be part of the change in Israeli society by voting Avoda.

In my definition of Zionism, opportunities to change Israel today don't come by that often. So I'm making the most of this chance, and I'm voting for Avoda.

                  -Ea, an olah from New Zealand

Why is Oded voting Labor?

My name is Oded, and I am currently working as a JAFI Shaliach in the US. I have been living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the past year and a half. Since the '99 elections I have been taking an active role in every campaign, and this is going to be the first time I'll miss it. I wish I could be there, obviously. I think that elections in Israel are always exciting, and I see them as an opportunity to shape the future of Israeli society. However, there are some upsides of being in America during the Israeli elections. Working with the American-Jewish community is giving me new perspectives and points of view of Israel.

As I said, I was always involved in politics and social issues in Israel. But coming to the U.S. helped me understand more what we should be trying to create. The nature of this future we are fighting for is becoming clear.

Only when I came here did I realize: I don’t want Israel to be a state just like all other states. We, as Jews, are not looking to replicate what we can find in other places. We are looking to create something of our own, in our image. We are looking to create a Jewish and Democratic state, which will feel like home for all of us – Jews and non-Jews.

Unfortunately, in the past few years I have been feeling that we are moving away from that vision. Israel is becoming less of a home for the poor and the weak. It's becoming less of a home for different minorities. It's becoming less of a home for me – a progressive Zionist Jew.

That is why I am going to vote for Avoda in these coming elections. I feel like Avoda is the only party that represents the home that I am looking for – one that has enough room for everyone, but not at the expense of anyone else. It's time to go back to our initial vision. We can't afford the huge socio-economic gaps. We can't afford anti-democratic legislation. We just can't afford the current leadership.

I love Israel. I want to see it flourish. Coming here, to America, and working in Jewish education only made me realize how much I love it.

But when I'm done here, I want to come back to a place that I can call home.

-Oded, an Israeli

Why is Shai voting Labor?

Election time has a special effect on any country; huge pictures of party-leaders looking down on the people from massive billboards, catchphrases dominating the public discussion, and media reporting on every sound bite for the news-hungry folk. In this up-coming elections jungle, it is easy to get lost between the sometimes nonexistent differences and weirdly similar sounding nicknames of politicians. But in my perspective these elections in Israel, more than anything are about the definition of Zionism. Is it about the land or is it about the state? Is it about democracy and the people or is it about Jewish religion?

In recent years the term 'Zionism' had been held hostage by the Israeli right. The Labour Party (with Yachimovich in the cockpit) will liberate it and bring it back home to the democratic, pluralistic, liberal and progressive side of Israeli society...and that is why I am voting Avodah.

-Shai, an oleh from The Netherlands

Why is Gabe voting Labor?

I will be voting for the Israeli Labor party on election day because I came to Israel with the wish of participating in a society that was run according to the universal human values, rooted deeply in the Judaic tradition, of justice, equality and enlightenment. Instead, I've found myself a citizen of a country plummeting ever deeper and faster into a squalid abyss of corruption, sectarianism, poverty and violence. Our current leaders seek to plunge us further into darkness as long as it secures their positions of power. Shelly Yachimovich and the Labor Party have promised to invest in, and look after, our greatest asset and most abundant natural resource—the people that live here. There is no other way to ensure the future prosperity, security and onward advancement of this great nation.

I am voting for the only party with the desire and ability to restore this country to greatness—the Labor Party.

- Gabe, an oleh from Australia